After our trip to Rioja, the famous Spanish wine region, we couldn’t stop thinking about all the wine, wood-fired lamb, and delicious pinchos we had there. And the wine. And pinchos. The pincho I most wanted to make was an incredibly garlicky mushroom treat, I had in Logroño, Rioja’s underrated capital city, known for its pincho-crawls.
While the experts in Logroño somehow manage to stack three mushroom caps and a baby shrimp on top of a toasted baguette, so that no human mouth can open wide enough to eat it, I was less ambitious. After taking a cue from this delightful video, I set out to make what the Basques call pintxos de txampis, or mushroom pinchos.
There’s really nothing complicated at all about them. Just a bunch of mushrooms caps topped with caramelized garlicky shallots mixed with wine. And ya esta. But when I served these at a recent party, they were quickly the first thing to disappear. When you make these, I’m sure the same will be true.
Mushroom Pintxos -- Pintxos de Txampis
Ingredients
- 30 button mushrooms, stems removed
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 small shallots, chopped
- 2 tsp flour
- 1 cup dry white wine or sherry
- 1/2 cup parsley, shredded
- 1 baguette, cut in 15 slices
- 15 skewers or toothpicks
Instructions
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In a medium pot with a lid on medium-low heat, add the olive oil, and when shimmering, add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute, until the garlic colors. Then add the flour, swirling around in the garlic-oil until well-mixed.
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Add the chopped shallots and wine, along with some salt and pepper, stir and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes until the shallots are very soft and caramelized.
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While it's cooking, crisp the baguette slices. Arrange them on a sheet pan and brush one side with olive oil. Place the bread slices under the broiler. Turn once, brushing the other side with the oil, so the bread gets nicely crisped up but not burnt, about a minute per side. Remove the bread and set aside.
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When onion mixture is done, add a cup of water and stir, deglazing the bottom of the pot. Let reduce slightly, about two minutes.
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If you‘d like a smoother sauce, you can pass the mixture through a food mill at this point. I didnt bother. Instead, I used a hand blender to puree everything.
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Either way, once pureed, add the mushroom caps and cook, covered, about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are done but still a little firm.
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To serve, spread a little of the onion puree on the baguette slice, top with a mushroom and some more of the puree. Then another mushroom and more puree. Skewer the mushrooms in place and top with parsley.
